A few side effects since starting Suboxone

hey everybody... i wanted to post and tell u guys that i am now on day 10 of Suboxone, and i am doing great. I do have a few side effects though, that i wanted to get u guys opinion on. I have noticed that i have "severe" constipation, and i know from reading others posts that this is very common. However, i have been takin the chewable fiber pills regularly, as well as MiraLax, and i still have not went in 8 days... it is very frustrating . Also, I have a bad case of "dry mouth". The only solution that i know for this is to keep drinking lots and lots of ice water. So, if anyone has any suggestions on that as well, i would greatly appreciate it. One last thing is, when i first wake up in the mornings, i cant walk because of the pain in my hips, legs,knees, &feet is horrible until about 20 min after i take my 1st 8mg dose of the day, and then im fine. Is this normal? I have never had that problem before, even when i was WD off my DOC. I mean, if this is just something that i have to deal with, that fine by me. Cause i would rateher put of with these few little side effects anyday, that go back to what i put myself/family through when i was in active addiction... Like i said, any suggestions would be great.
Also, my current Suboxone dose is two 8mg films a day.
Thanks again everybody. Happy St.Patrick's Day!!

thanks nannamom for ur reply and suggestions. After 9 days of "not going", i finally broke down and gave myself an enima yesterday evening, and after spending most of the night in the bathroom, i feel 100% better today. I know that this is a really embarrassing topic , but i figured posting about it might help someone else who is experiencing this that is new to Suboxone, as well as myself... Thanks again

Constipation is killing me even at 3mg a day! But Ive learned a few tricks. First, there is something you can buy at Walgreens called Prunelax. Its natural, and it says to take 3 a day, but I take 3 with lots of water then 2 hours later take 2 more. Keep repeating that every day till you go. Or you can try senna tea. Many pharmacies and supermarkets now carry this. But the best thing that helped me was eating stewed prunes. I ate 9 one day and went like a train. next day nothing. At least its natural food. You want to eat mostly high fiber fods and also eat less so if you constipate, you dont get in so much pain with all of it backing up for 5 days or so. Last resort is castor oil. What I just gave you I should be paid for. I had it so bad I was so scared because i could feel the excretement with my finger tip and i had to spend man a day pulling it out with my fingers. Thats how dried out you become.

Oh also.......exercise. Movement moves your intestines around. I took a laxitive one day and couldnt go. Then I went to the gym and did 15 min of very light weight lifting with the lat machine and high rep bench presses and in 15 min I was running not walking to the toilet. Thats right, all the above will only work at half speed if you dont exercise all day. Im ashamed. I know all this and still dont do it every day. I should do it twice a day. If you can run, start running even for 2 or 3 minutes and then just walk for 10 min more. Youll be amazed. Stay close to the toilet! Make sure you have 2 quarts/8 glasses of water per day. I guarantee if this doesnt get you moving, nothing will. Let me know how it works out for all of you.

Hello to everyone!!

I wanted to let you know that I have been on Suboxone for a little over 3 years & did have constipation upon beginning the medication, but then over time it had ceased & just recently, it has returned & with a vengence!! I don't know what I am doing any differently, but as said in an above post, I was drinking Milk of Mag, then went to Correctol (laxative) & even had to break down & give myself an enima & still am only pooping out little rabbit turds. Sorry to be so blunt, as this really can be an embarrassing topic, but it sounds like one that is affecting many of us, so I will tell you all what my doctor recently told me... He told me to mix Citracel with AT LEAST 8 oz. of water mixed together well & to drink that up to 3 times daily until I begin to go again & then continue to do so even if I am no longer suffering from the constipation BC it will prevent it from blocking me up again. I have only recently begun doing this & to be honest, I am still only at the rabbit turd point. BUT, at least I have been going that much rather than not at all, except that it is hurting so badly when I do go as it is tearing me up since it is so very dry. I was very glad to see this topic come up at this time BC I am also having a rough go of it. (literally!) I will continue on with the Citracel, but I also got a whole lot of new ideas from all of you that have posted on this subject that I am going to begin to try out also. I hate taking laxatives BC you never know when it is coming & need to stick close to the loo as well as those awful cramps that I also get from them. Basically, the idea seems to be to drink plenty of water & get as much fiber into your system as you possibly can as well as exercising everyday. (even if it is just a little bit of exercise- it seems to be crucial!) I hope that the Citracel plan will eventually work it out of me, but in the meantime, I truly appreciate the ideas that you have all shared about your own experiences. That is why it is so important to post your issues BC although I have belonged to this forum for over 3 years now (or since it began in 2008) I have never brought this issue to the board before & right when I needed some help the most, I came across this topic. I know that we have discussed it before, but before I wasn't experiencing these same issues, so I did not pay attention to the ideas as much as I am this time around. Help from others... wow, if that isn't the entire point of this forum!!

Thank you all for your above ideas & know that you have helped out someone else today just by sharing your own experiences!! Despite the embarrassment of this topic, you have all helped me very much!! Thank you again!

Yours in this situation,
Beth

As with all medications it is extremely important to remember to drink lots of water always.
These medications that doctors dispense and even the ones OTC do say on the lables to drink pleanty of water.
In order to get things moving along water is one of the key ingredients.
When a person gets constipated even from tkaing opiates the stool needs to be able to absorbe water in order to move.

Beth, if you will increase your water intake beyond the 8oz with the Citrucel. It is a bulk forming laxitive that absorbs liquid in the intestings which in turn makes a bulky, stool softener which is easier to pass.
If you are still having the "rabbit pellet" type stool try to increase your water intake. It may help.
I did some reading on it and one of the things that was said is that if you do not take it with enough water it can cause it to swell in the throat and cause choking.

Yes, yes, yes... water seems to be the biggest factor of it all.

I cannot speak for others, but I can tell you all that I do NOT drink nearly enough water for the medication that I am on or really just life in general. I do drink the water with the Citracel & you are right about the more water, the better Dee. It can cause choking & gagging if it is not thinned out enough by the amount of water that you mix it with. I have a terrible habit of drinking coffee all morning long, then switching over to Pepsi as the day goes on... Way too much caffiene for one thing & not nearly enough water to clear out my system as it needs to be cleared. I am going to begin a NEW habit today that for every Pepsi that I drink, I drink a bottle of water in between. I am always thirsty & I know that soda does not quench thirst, but rather makes you MORE thirsty. Not to mention the effects that caffiene does have on a person's body. Also, despite beginning to use the Citracel, I still am not having very good luck at all with normal bowel movements. There are days that I do go, but it is still the "rabbit pellets" (better word, by the way- thanks!) & do not feel as if I am clearing out my system nearly enough. Then, there are days that I do not go at all & feel miserable because I do need to pass my food, etc. throughout my system in order to feel right. Then, there are other days like yesterday that I get myself so stressed out that I have a pure liquid diarrhea & leaves my stomach in absolute cramps & still feeling like I have not cleared out my system nearly enough as I still have that "hard stomach" that is food that needs to pass through me. I have absolutely NO appetite- partly due to not going to the restroom often enough & mainly because I am so very stressed. When I do eat, I try to eat snacks such as fruit & granola bars as to not block up my insides any further. My stomach CANNOT hold a full meal right now whatsoever. I feel as if I would blow up. I force myself to eat as I know that my body does need fuel to continue to work properly, but it is a struggle to get any food down at all. It's strange because I end up eating in the middle of the night due to being asleep & the stress being alleviated for the time being asleep that my hunger senses begin to work. I usually come to the kitchen after about 2-3 hours of being asleep & eat a bowl of cereal to hold me over & fill my belly. I am eating terribly right now, not what I am eating, but how little I am actually taking in. Often times I realize that it is five in the evening & I still haven't had a bite to eat throughout the entire day yet. At that point, I try to eat a banana or a peach & of course, I still prepare dinner for my family, so I try to force myself to eat a few bites of whatever I have made that night. I have too many balls in the air right now & am going to lose my mind if I don't get this all handled. I see the current Provider that I have had today to see if he can at least help me through this next month so i am not so crunched for time as I have had NO LUCK at all with finding a provider who is accepting new patients. If he decides to help me, I will at least have enough Suboxone to make it through my vacation, which is one of my biggest concerns right now since there is nothing that I can do from North Carolina.

I am sorry because I have to run out the door right At this very moment if I am ever going to get anything accomplished. I wish that I had more time to share what I am currently going through.

Thanks for listening & for the advice!
Beth

One thing to mention Beth. And I know this is getting to you too late for you to mention it to your doctor. (I apologize)
Ask him if he can give you a 30day supply with a refill on it. That way you might have enough to see you through until you can get into someone else. It's worth a shot.
Good luck my friend!
Dee